Singapore shares continue upward trend, rise 0.4% on Wednesday

MOST stock markets in the region traded flat or lower on Wednesday as investors waited for more developments on US-China trade, but Singapore bucked the trend, boosted by bright spots in corporate earnings.

Local shares rose for a third straight session, with the Straits Times Index closing at 3,262.69, higher by 0.43 per cent or 14.06 points.

About 1.71 billion securities worth S$1.4 billion changed hands. Meanwhile, advancers edged out decliners 209 to 177, led by financials and industrial companies.

Real estate firm Hongkong Land Holdings and industrial conglomerate Jardine Matheson Holdings were among the top gainers, rising as much as 3.5 per cent and 2.9 per cent each.

On Wednesday, Hongkong Land closed at US$5.54, up 1.84 per cent or US$0.10, while Jardine Matheson gained 2.34 per cent or US$1.32 to US$57.65.

All three Singapore banks also closed higher, with DBS Group leading the charge. The counter ended at S$26.40, up 0.88 per cent or S$0.23.

But StarHub was one hot stock, jumping as much as 9.8 per cent to S$1.45 on a cum-dividend basis during morning trade, on the back of improved net profit and a potential joint 5G bid with another mobile network operator.

The mainboard-listed telco released its third-quarter results on Tuesday which saw its net profit rise 1.7 per cent. The news led some brokerages like CGS-CIMB to upgrade their views on StarHub.

In contrast to earlier days of flat trading, shares of StarHub finished at S$1.43 on Wednesday, up 8.33 per cent or S$0.11, with nearly 15 million shares changing hands.